Up and Down Wall Street

A Band-Aid for Puerto Rico

Legislation was passed to provide a mechanism to restructure the debts of Puerto Rico's so-called public corporations.

American investors have had lots to worry about this year in distant points on the globe, from the insurgency in Iraq, Russia's less-than-friendly takeover of Crimea, and problems in China's shadow-banking system. Meanwhile, a clear and present risk continues to grow close to their shores, in Puerto Rico.

Concerns about the U.S. commonwealth's credit seemed to subside after it was able to issue some $3.5 billion of general obligation bonds in March, which would provide the cash-strapped central government adequate...